Schism in the California Republican Party / McClintock should heed Reagan's words and withdraw

David E. Johnson

Published
4:00 am PDT, Friday, September 12, 2003

Accepting the 1964 Republican presidential nomination, Sen. Barry Goldwater electrified hard-core conservatives with his declaration, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, and let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue."

At the same time, he alienated moderate Republicans, Democrats and independents with his choice of words and inept campaigning against President Lyndon Johnson during the general election. It was not that voters disagreed with many of his issues but his stridency on issues frightened them. Years later, Goldwater stated that he regretted some of his more strident comments and that perhaps it might have been better had he not run in 1964.

In California's Oct. 7 recall election, state Sen. Tom McClintock, R- Thousand Oaks, is the darling of the conservative base. A proven vote-getter (as his 2002 race for state controller demonstrated), McClintock -- like Goldwater -- finds himself unable to extend his base beyond traditional Republicans in the time remaining for the recall election. In light of Peter Ueberroth's announcement that he was dropping out of the race, following that of Bill Simon, McClintock must now ask himself: Does he really want to pursue his candidacy and, years later (like Goldwater), regret that he allowed a Democrat to win? Or, for the good of California and the Republican Party, drop out of the race?

The latest Field Poll shows that Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante leads with 30 percent, Arnold Schwarzenegger is second with 25 percent, McClintock is third with 13 percent and the now ex-candidate Peter Ueberroth with 5 percent. Both McClintock's and Ueberroth's supporters indicated that Schwarzenegger would be their second choice if their candidate dropped out of the race.

Bustamante's numbers have remained stagnant in recent polls, so to fire up his base, he is foregoing appeals to retain Gov. Gray Davis in the first part of the recall election and has staked out extreme liberal positions. His platform, while appealing to the hard-core Democratic base, is turning off moderate voters, particularly married women.

According to polling by state and national branches of the Republican and independent organizations, Schwarzenegger is appealing to conservatives and moderates across both parties, particularly married women who were the source of Republican dominance from Ronald Reagan to Pete Wilson, but were lost to the party with Dan Lungren and Bill Simon. McClintock can appeal to these same voters, but he does not have the time nor resources to reach this group and overtake Bustamante.

Reagan, whom McClintock invokes (as do all Republicans), used to say, "I'd rather a Republican that I agree with 90 percent of the time than a Democrat that I disagree with 100 percent of the time." Reagan based this policy on his observation of Goldwater's campaign, to which he traced his political awakening. If McClintock is a true heir of Reagan, he would be well advised to follow those words, withdraw from the race and endorse Schwarzenegger. Californians and Republicans nationwide will forever be in his debt.